Container closure with hinged cover portion



June 6,1967 c. MINARIK, JR.. ETAL 3,

CONTAINER CLOSURE WITH HINGED COVER PORTION I Filed Feb. 18. 1965 "fiiz 56' 5.9

United States Patent Des Plaines, 11]., assignors to Conof America, Chicago, 111., a corpo- This invention relates to plastic closures for containers, and more particularly to a removable plastic, dispensing cap especially suitable for use on a glass container such as bottle or jar.

The invention comprehends an improvement in plastic dispensing caps of the type which include a hinged cover section formed integrally with the body portion of the cap.

It is a primary object of the invention to provide, in a closure arrangement of the type described, a cap having a body portion with a pouring opening therein and a cover portion hinged thereto and adapted to close the pouring opening.

Another object of the invention is to provide, in a closure arrangement of the type described, an improved sealing arrangement particularly suitable for use on a plastic closure for a glass container.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide, in a closure arrangement of the type described, a cap having an integral, two-piece hinged cover portion including a closure section adapted to close the pouring opening in the cap and a connecting section hingedly connecting the closure section to the body portion of the cap.

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from an examination of the following description and drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan View of a closure arrangement embodying features of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical section taken on line 2-2 of FIGURE 1, illustrating the manner in which the cap is applied to the neck of a container;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical section taken on line 3-3 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a top plan view similar to FIGURE 1 but showing the cover portion of the cap in a fully extended or open position;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of the structure illustrated in FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 6 is a view similar to FIGURES, but showing the operation of the cap sealing bead when applied to the adjacent edge surface of a container.

It will be understood that, for purposes of clarity, certain elements have been intentionally omitted from certain views where they are believed to be illustrated to better advantage in other views.

Referring now to the drawing for a better understanding of the invention, and particularly to FIGURE 2, it wil be seen that the novel closure or cap, indicated generally at C, is shown as applied to a container, indicated generally at K, which is preferably a glass bottle or jar.

Still referring to FIGURE 2 it will be seen that container K includes a body portion 10 having formed integrally with its upper extremity a neck portion 12 presenting an external thread 14, adapted to cooperate with a related internal thread presented by the cap, and a flat, upwardly facing edge surface 16.

As best seen in FIGURES 2 and 4, the cap includes a body portion 20 having a generally fiat, horizontal, circular top wall 22 and a generally cylindrical side wall, or skirt, 24 depending from the outer edge of top wall 22 to form therewith a cavity 26 adapted to receive an upper portion of the container neck. Additionally, the cap i Mariemont, Cincinnati, Ohio, and

portion, or closure member, 23 formed integrally with cap body cludes a movable cover which is hinged to and portion20.

As best seen in FIGURES 2 and 4, the cap side wall may be formed with an outer surface which is ribbed or grooved, as at 30, to facilitate grasping and turning of the cap to remove it from the container. On its inner surface the cap side wall may be provided with a thread 32 adapted to cooperate with thread 14 provided on the outside of the container neck. Cap side wall 32 may also be provided on its inner surface with an annular liner ret aining bead 34 which is located above the internal thread 32 and which is adapted to receive and retain a conventional sealing liner (not shown) when it is desired to use a liner in the initial filling and closing of the container.

As best seen in FIGURES 2, 5, and 6, cap top wall 22 is provided on its under side with an annular wedge shaped sealing bead 40 which is formed by a vertical outer surface 42 and an inclined inner surface 44 which mean to form a relatively sharp, thin point or edge 46.

As best seen in FIGURE 6, when the cap is screwed down on to the neck of the container so that edge 46 of the sealing bead contacts edge 16 of the container neck, as pressure is applied, the edge of the sealing bead is deflected outwardly so that an O-ring type sealing effect is accomplished. By providing the bead with a vertical outer surface and inclined inner surface it is possible to control the curvature or roll out of the edge 46 of the bead when it contacts the top surface of the container neck, so. that a uniform deflection in a radially outward direction is achieved around the entire edge of the sealing head.

This arrangement wherein the sealing bead is made of a softer or more flexible material than the material of the container neck is completely different from the conventional sealing arrangement, as disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,818,204 wherein the sealing bead is formed of a harder material than the material of the container neck so the bead can dig or bite into the container neck.

As best seen in FIGURE 4 the top Wall 22 of the cap body presents a flat upper surface 50- having a central depressed area or recessed portion which forms a well or channel 52 having a flat upwardly facing floor surface 54 and a pair of vertical side surfaces 56. The top wall of the cap body is provided with a circular pouring opening 58 disposed in the well area of the top Wall adjacent the outside edge thereof. Also, the cap top wall is provided with a pair of aligned cover lug receiving recesses 59 which are aligned with each other and located approximately midway between the opposite ends of the well 52 and at opposite sides thereof. As best seen in FIGURE 3, the recesses 59 are undercut so as to extend below the well surface 54 and under the side surfaces 56 of the well which, in the area of the recesses, are inclined slightly as indicated at 56a. The purpose of the recesses will be described later in the specification.

Still referring to FIGURE 4, and also to FIGURE 5, it will be seen that the cap includes an integrally formed closure member 28 which comprises a pair of closure and connecting sections 60 and 62, respectively, which are arranged and disposed to lie in co-planar relationship within the top Wall well 52 when the cap is in fully closed position. Closure section 60 is generally flat and is disposed to lie over the pouring opening 58 and the cap top wall. Closure section 60 is hingedly' attached to the body of the cap by means of the connecting section 62 which is hingedly attached at its outer edge to the closure section and which is hingedly attached at its opposite edge to the cap body at the junction of the top and side Walls along a pair of integrally formed hinge elements 64 and 66, respectively. Thus, the closure member is an articulated type member which may be partially closed when the connecting section is positioned within the well, and which may be fully closed when the closure section is also placed within the well. The connecting section is provided at its outward extremity along opposite side edges with a pair of retaining lugs 68 which, as best seen in FIGURE 3, extend downwardly and outwardly from the side edges of the connecting section so as to be receivable within the cover lug recesses 59 of the cap top wall. They are so dimensioned as to require a slight amount of pressure to force or snap the lugs into the recesses and also a slight amount of pressure to force them out.

The closure section of the closure member is provided on its under surface with an annular sealing flange 70 adapted to be received within the pouring opening 58 of the cover top wall to effect a closure and seal therebetween.

A great advantage of this particular construction is that the entire cap including the body and cover or closure member portions may easily be formed in a standard type mold because of the novel articulated structure of the cover or closure member. If the closure member were not formed in two sections hinged to each other, conventional molding operations could not be applied to construct this piece.

In actual use, once the connecting member is placed into the well and its lugs snapped into position within the lug retaining recesses of the cover top wall, only the closure section is moved into and out of closing position over the pouring opening. In order to facilitate opening of the closure section it may be provided on its free or outer extremity with an extension 72 which projects radially outward beyond the outer periphery of the cap side wall 24.

In practice it is contemplated that this closure arrangement could be employed to package various types of articles, and, if desired, a standard circular liner or disk (not shown) could be placed within the cap and maintained in position by the liner retaining bead 34. Once the product is initially opened the liner may be discarded and the cap replaced so that henceforth to dispense a liquid or powder from the container it would only be necessary to raise the closure section of the closure member and replace it after dispensing the contents.

We claim:

1. A unitary, plastic, dispensing cap, for a glass container having a threaded neck presenting a flat edge surface, comprising:

(a) a tubular body including a generally flat, circular top wall and a generally cylindrical side wall depending from the edge thereof to form therewith a cavity for receiving an upper portion of said container neck;

(b) said side wall presenting interior threads engageable with exterior threads presented by said container neck;

(c) said top Wall presenting on its underside an annular wedge shaped sealing bead arranged and disposed to engage the edge surface of said container neck when the cap is screwed down into closed position;

(d) said sealing bead presenting a vertical outer surface and an inclined inner surface which meet to form a knife-like edge capable of deflecting radially outwardly upon engagement with said container neck flat surface to form an O-ring type seal between the cap and container;

(e) said top wall presenting in its upper side a relatively shallow well extending diametrically completely thereacross;

(f) said top wall having a circular pouring opening extending threthrough located at one end of said well;

(g) said top wall having aligned cover lug receiving recesses therein located at opposite sides of said well approximately midway between the ends thereof;

(h) a removable cover arranged and disposed to lie within said well when in closed position, and includmg:

(i) a closure section disposed to overlie said top wall pouring opening, when in closed position, and presenting on its underside a cylindrical sealing flange arranged and disposed to be received within said top wall pouring opening;

(ii) a connecting section hingedly connected at one end to said closure section and hingedly connected at the other end to said cap body at one end of the well at the junction of cap top and side walls;

(iii) said connecting section presenting inwardly adjacent said one end a pair of spaced retaining lugs arranged and disposed to be received within the related recesses of said top wall to retain said connecting section in closed position within said well.

2. A unitary, plastic, dispensing cap, for a container having a threaded neck, comprising:

(a) a tubular body including a generally flat, circular top wall and a generally cylindrical side wall depending from the edge thereof to form therewith a cavity for receiving an upper portion of said container neck;

(b) said side wall presenting interior threads engageable with exterior threads presented by said container neck;

(c) said top wall presenting in its upper side a relatively shallow well extending diametrically completely thereacross;

(d) said top wall having a circular pouring opening extending therethrough located at one end of said well;

(e) said top wall having aligned cover lug receiving recesses therein located at opposite sides of said well approximately midway between the ends thereof;

(f) a removeable cover arranged and disposed to lie within said well when in closed position, and includ- (i) a closure section disposed to overlie said top wall pouring opening, when in closed position, and presenting on its underside a cylindrical sealing flange arranged and disposed to be received within said top wall pouring opening;

(ii) a connecting section hingedly connected at one end to said closure section and hingedly connected at the other end to said cap body at one end of the well at the junction of cap top and side walls;

(iii) said connecting section presenting inwardly adjacent said one end a pair of spaced retaining lugs arranged and disposed to be received within the related recesses of said top wall to retain said connecting section in closed postion within said well.

3. A unitary, plastic, dispensing cap, for a container 60 having a neck, comp-rising:

(a) a tubular body including a generally flat, circular top wall and a generally cylindrical side wall depending from the edge thereof to form therewith a cavity for receiving an upper portion of said container neck;

(b) said top wall presenting in its upper side a relatively shallow well extending diametrically completely thereacross;

70 (c) said top wall having a circular pouring opening extending therethrough located at one end of said well;

(d) said top wall having aligned cover lug receiving recesses therein located at opposite sides of said well approximately midway between the ends thereof;

(e) a removeable cover arranged and disposed to lie within said well when in closed position, and includmg:

(i) a closure section disposed to overlie said top wall pouring opening, when in closed position, and presenting on its underside a cylindrical sealing flange arranged and disposed to be received within said top wall pouring opening;

(ii) a connecting section hingedly connected at one end to said closure section and hingedly connected at the other end to said cap body at one end of the well at the junction of cap top and side walls;

(iii) said connecting section presenting inwardly adjacent said one end a pair of spaced retaining lugs arranged and disposed to be received within the related recesses of said top wall to retain said connecting section in closed position within said well.

4. A unitary, plastic, dispensing cap, for a container having a neck, comprising:

(a) a tubular body including a generally flat, circular top wall and a generally cylindrical side wall depending from the edge thereof to form therewith a cavity for receiving an upper portion of said container neck;

(b) said top wall having a circular pouring opening extending therethrough;

(c) said top wall having aligned cover lug receiving recesses;

(d) a removable cover including:

(i) a closure section disposed to overlie said top wall pouring opening, when in closed position, and presenting on its underside a cylindrical sealing flange arranged and disposed to be received within said top wall pouring opening;

(ii) a connecting section hingedly connected at one end to said closure section and hingedly connected at the other end to said cap body at one end of the well at the junction of cap top and side walls;

(iii) said connecting section presenting inwardly adjacent said one end a pair of spaced retaining lugs arranged and disposed to be received within the related recesses of said top wall to retain said connecting section in closed position.

5. A unitary, plastic, dispensing cap, for a container having a neck, comprising:

(a) a tubular body including a generally flat, circular top wall and a generally cylindrical side wall depending from the edge thereof to form therewith a cavity for receiving an upper portion of said container neck;

(b) said top wall presenting in its upper side a relatively shallow well extending diametrically completely thereacross;

(c) said top wall having a circular pouring opening extending therethrough located at one end of said well;

((1) said top wall having aligned cover lug receiving recesses;

(e) a removable cover arranged and disposed to lie completely within said well and present a flat surface at the top of said cap when in closed position, and including:

(i) a closure section hingedly connected at one end to said cap body at the junction of cap top and side walls, and disposed to overlie said top wall pouring opening, when in closed position;

(ii) said closure section presenting a pair of spaced retaining lugs arranged and disposed to be received within the related recesses of said top wall to retain said closure section in closed position.

6. A unitary, plastic, dispensing cap, for a container having a neck, comprising:

(a) a tubular body including a generally flat, circular top wall and a generally cylindrical side wall depending from the edge thereof to form therewith a cavity for receiving an upper portion of said container neck;

(b) said top wall having a circular pouring opening extending therethrough;

(c) said top wall having aligned cover lug receiving recesses;

(d) a removable cover including:

(i) a closure section hingedly connected at one end to said cap body and disposed to overlie said top wall pouring opening, when in closed position;

(ii) said closure section presenting a pair of spaced retaining lugs arranged and disposed to be received within the related recesses of said top wall to retain said closure section in closed position.

7. A unitary, plastic, dispensing cap, for a container having a neck, comprising:

(a) a tubular body including a generally flat, circular top wall and a generally cylindrical side wall depending frorn the edge thereof to form therewith a cavity for receiving an upper portion of said container neck;

(b) said top wall having a circular pouring opening extending therethrough;

(c) said top wall having aligned cover lug receiving recesses;

(d) a removable cover including:

(i) a closure section hingedly connected at one end to said cap body at the junction of cap top and side walls, and disposed to overlie said top wall pouring opening, when in closed position;

(ii) said closure section presenting a pair of spaced retaining lugs arranged and disposed to be received within the related recesses of said top wall to retain said closure section in closed position.

8. A unitary, plastic, dispensing cap, for a container having a neck, comprising:

(a) a tubular body including a generally flat, circular top wall and a generally cylindrical side wall depending from the edge thereof to form therewith a cavity for receiving an upper portion of said container neck;

(b) said top wall having a circular pouring opening extending therethrough;

(c) said top wall having aligned cover lug receiving recesses;

(d) a removable cover including:

(i) a closure section disposed to overlie said top wall pouring opening, when in closed position, and presenting on its underside a cylindrical sealing flange arranged and disposed to be received within said top wall pouring openmg;

(ii) said closure section being hingedly connected to said cap body and presenting a pair of spaced retaining lugs arranged and disposed to be received within the related recesses of said top wall to retain said closure section in closed position.

9. A unitary, plastic, dispensing cap, for a container having a neck, comprising:

(a) a tubular body including a generally flat, circular top wall and a generally cylindrical side wall depending from the edge thereof to form therewith a cavity for receiving an upper portion of said container neck;

(b) said top Wall having a circular pouring opening extending therethrough;

(c) said top wall having aligned cover lug receiving recesses;

(d) a removable cover including:

(i) a closure section disposed to overlie said top wall pouring opening, when in closed position, and presenting on its underside a cylindrical sealing flange arranged and disposed to be received within said top wall pouring opening;

(ii) said closure section being hingedly connected at one end to said cap body and presenting adjacent the other end a pair of spaced retaining lugs arranged and disposed to be received within the related recesses of said top wall to retain said closure section in closed position.

10. A unitary, plastic, dispensing cap, for a container having a neck, comprising:

(a) a tubular body including a generally flat, circular top Wall and a generally cylindrical side Wall depending from the edge thereof to form therewith a cavity :for receiving an upper portion of said container neck;

(b) said top 'wall having a circular pouring opening extending therethrough;

(c) said top wall having aligned cover lug receiving recesses;

(d) a removable cover including:

(i) a closure section disposed to overlie said top wall pouring opening, when in closed position;

(ii) a connecting section hingedly connected at one end to said closure section and hingedly connected at the other end to said cap body at the junction of cap top and side Walls;

(iii) said connecting section presenting inwardly adjacent said one end a pair of spaced retaining lugs arranged and disposed to be received within the related recesses of said top wall to retain said connecting section in closed position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,215,609 8/1938 Goodwin 21573 3,055,526 9/1962 Plunkett 215-41 3,081,005 3/1963 OConnor M 222543 3,240,405 3/1966 Abbott 222543 OTHER REFERENCES Shackleton: Abstract of application Ser. No. 743,769, published Nov. 22, 1949.

JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner.

R. PESHOCK, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A UNITARY, PLASTIC, DISPENSING CAP, FOR A GLASS CONTAINER HAVING A THREADED NECK PRESENTING A FLAT EDGE SURFACE, COMPRISING: (A) A TUBULAR BODY INCLUDING A GENERALLY FLAT, CIRCULAR TOP WALL AND A GENERALLY CYLINDRICAL SIDE WALL DEPENDING FROM THE EDGE THEREOF TO FORM THEREWITH A CAVITY FOR RECEIVING AN UPPER PORTION OF SAID CONTAINER NECK; (B) SAID SIDE WALL PRESENTING INTERIOR THREADS ENGAGEABLE WITH EXTERIOR THREADS PRESENTED BY SAID CONTAINER NEXK; (C) SAID TOP WALL PRESENTING ON ITS UNDERSIDE AN ANNULAR WEDGE SHAPED SEALING BEAD ARRANGED AND DISPOSED TO ENGAGE THE EDGE SURFACE OF SAID CONTAINER NECK WHEN THE CAP IS SCREWED DOWN INTO CLOSED POSITION; (D) SAID SEALING BEAD PRESENTING A VERTICAL OUTER SURFACE AND AN INCLINED INNER SURFACE WHICH MEET TO FORM A KNIFE-LIKE EDGE CAPABLE OF DEFLECTING RADIALLY OUTWARDLY UPON ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID CONTAINER NECK FLAT SURFACE TO FORM AN "O-RING" TYPE SEAL BETWEEN THE CAP AND CONTAINER; (E) SAID TOP WALL PRESENTING IN ITS UPPER SIDE A RELATIVELY SHALLOW WELL EXTENDING DIAMETRICALLY COMPLETELY THEREACROSS; (F) SAID TOP WALL HAVING A CIRCULAR POURING OPENING EXTENDING THERETHROUGH LOCATED AT ONE END OF SAID WELL; 